A friend of mine dropped by a week or two ago and gave me a pretty lucrative offer to work for Norfolk-Southern. The money's good, steady paycheck (instead of this goofy commission BS I'm getting), good benefits and so on. And plus, I'm about burned out from turning wrenches; my attitude towards several folks (here and in my daily grind) probably reflects this, and to whoever it applies to (y'all know who you are), I'm sorry.

But back to the original point, anyone else work for any railroad companies? Opinions? Good? Bad? Ugly?

 

If I was convinced it would be a career job, and I could retire from it, I wouldn't hesitate for a second.

I like trains.

 

I would say go for it. Funny thing is, I am about to inquire about the railroad up here in my area. A few friends ( old timers ) worked for and retired from the railroad. They loved it, were paid well and had excelent benefits and great retirement. I'm sure there's some BS that goes along with it, but then again, what job doesn't have any? I say if it sounds good and you think you'll like it, go for it.


BREW

 

i had a job with union pacific but i turned it down after finding out i would only be home bout 2 day a month .... being single and living like a nomad is ok if you dont ever want to own a house or stuff... your not home to take care of it... so i turned it down.. said the hell with that crap...

 

Anyone work for the railroad?

Yeah, and I didn't like it one bit.

 

My granddaddy did.



That's me not him .


Dan

 

I deal with most all the Class I's in the Mid-West.....what exactly will you be doing for them and I will let you know what I know of it......

 

Conducting, I hope.

 

I have a customer that went from working his own auto repair/transmission shop for quite a number of years. To go work in the locomotive shop. Probably 3 times as far a drive, but the bennys were the deal maker.

He still works his shop afternoons and a day or so a week when he is off.

He really likes the job from what he tell me.

 

Quintin: I nearly accepted an entry level management position with NS earlier this year.... The only reason I didn't was the fact they were going to send me to work in yard in downtown Detroit. I'm originally from that area and couldn't imagine leaving my friends and family in NC.

That said, NS is an OUTSTANDING company to work for. Retirement is wonderful, and there's no paying into social security, you pay into railroad retirement which is totally separate from SS. So if SS goes to hell one day, railroaders won't care one bit, they'll still be covered.

NS has a great high-tech training facility just south of Atlanta where they train most (if not all) of their conductors. I toured that facility in December of '05 and they were just installing their new 42" HD screens for their train simulators.

As a conductor you'd spend alot of your time learning how to operate a locomotive, as well as riding with experienced conductors to learn their routes and techniques first hand. You probably won't have a set 8-5 type schedule, you're more likely to be on-call, and work various 'shifts'.

If you're sick of your current position and want something new, I'd HIGHLY recommend going for this change. Just be sure you can pass a drug screen and background check and be willing to learn!

If you have any questions about NS or anything else, just gimme a hollar...

NCSU